Thursday, July 30, 2009

How many people didn't wish Slone Peterson (Ferris Bueller's gal) was their girlfriend?

The answer? Nobody. So, we sat down with the actress who played her. Mia Sara. Who I already had a crush on at an early age after seeing her in 'Legend'.

She gave good interview :) Mia was funny, very generous with her time, quite honest and vulnerable with us. And she still looks great!

One of the most interesting and suprising things she spoke about was Hughes' approach to setting a tone in pre-production, specifically with the kind of films he screened for his actors. Current teen film writer/directors should definitely take note.

I could go on about the other things SHE went on about, but you might as well see for yourself...

Thursday, July 16, 2009

Kari Hollend here, just in time to chime in about traveling with two scruffy guys and staying in dilapidated motels in Los Angeles. Like the Highland Gardens. Our first trip to L.A was to interview the producers of Napoleon Dynamite, Jackie Burch (Hughes’ casting director) and teen “masterbatory” (a word Matt used, that Kelly called him out on…you’ll see) pin-up Kelly LeBrock (Lisa from Weird Science).

Michael (here in called Fach), was in charge of getting us to our interviews. He knew L.A a lot better than Matt or I (he lived there as an actor at one point) and drove our rented Sedan across the city. We stayed in a two bedroom suite. The carpets smelled like 1970 and Fach I were sure somebody died in our shower (FYI, Janis Joplin famously overdosed at this motel). It’s not like we found the motel, randomly, it’s quite famous for housing Canadian talent as they try and make a go at it in L.A. And they have a nice pool.

Fach slept on a rusty cot and was prone to heavy snoring and screaming in his sleep. This first trip presented how terribly disorganized we were and made it quite clear to me that I was with a bunch of monkeys.

To divide and conquer here were our responsibilities:

I was in charge of setting up the interviews, the money, and the scheduling ; making sure that everything was confirmed and ran smoothly. The point person.

Matt was in charge of the camera, the questions and carrying his gear. He also made a big effort to consistently wear red to all interviews

Fach was in charge of three things ; Making sure we had enough tapes. Making sure people were properly mic’ed (no pun intended), and making sure we knew where we were going.

Surprisingly enough. Our first interview went pretty well.

Day 1. Our interview with Chris Wyatt & Sean Covel, the producers of Napoleon Dynamite. Our good friend , and associate producer Pam Silverstein, had a connection to them and raved about what great guys they were. We wanted an interview with them as they seemed to have their finger on the pulse of creating un”She’s All That” kind of teen films. They were ah-maze-ing! I think part of it was the fact that they were our first interview in Los Angeles, and frankly anything they said could have been exciting. Just the fact that people were willing to talk to us. All kidding aside, these were two of the most entertaining, intelligent and charismatic guys you could come across. They were not only extremely insightful and humble and supported our thesis, but they gave us one of your favourite sound bytes (which you’ll see in the film) and messages to deliver to John Hughes. They set the bar.

Day 2. Our interview with Jackie Burch. This is where the true colours of what was going to be our path revealed themselves. We met Jackie at her home. We had built up a nice rapport with her through e-mails and phone conversations, and of course Fach decided to take the opportunity to court a casting director by sending her a copy of a feature film he appeared in…naked. After knocking on her door, one of the first things she said to us was “Hey, Michael – here’s your porno back” (imagine this with a Linda Richmond from SNL’s Coffee Time accent). Most people we found were extremely hospitable and what was supposed to be “just an intervew” turned into a half day affair of getting to know each other. We interviewed her in her backyard. This was our first interview where the real magic and genius of Hughes came to the forefront. Jackie was the first person to tell us things that you would otherwise never know. She came alive when talking about him and was saddened when talking about the state of the teen film and how someone that she was so close with, could disappear like that. We left her house brimming with confidence…then we watched the tape back.. Her interview was perfect, if it wasn’t for the lavaliere mic scratching all over her dialogue. Mike had had a few problems mic’ing her correctly, which is understandable cause it was his first time as a “sound guy”, but due to the fact that he didn’t bring headphones couldn’t monitor the sound level. Well, another lesson learned. Her interview is still part of the film, if you hear a hiss or bump, now you know why.

Day 3. The interview the guys had been salivating over, Kelly LeBrock. We woke up in the morning and the guy were extremely excited for what’s to come. Kelly lives in a secluded beautiful ranch - three hours outside of Los Angeles. We gassed up the car and were on our way, giving us more than enough time to get there. We were set!!! Fach had made a mix CD specific for our travels. He also found some great tracks that we had never heard of, and some oldies but goodies. We had the tunes blasting and were enjoying the scenery when Matt turned to Fach to ask where the tapes were so he could pre-label them. His response “I thought YOU had the tapes.” . Our lovely car ride had now turned to a screaming match. We were too far to go back and in the middle of nowhere. We were now against the clock as Kelly was very specific about the time she had available. The only tape Matt had was the one with Jackie Burch’s and the Napoleon Dynamite interview on it and we couldn’t tape over that. You could say were all stressed, to put it mildly. We pulled over to a older couple walking down the road. They didn’t really know what a “mini-dv tape was or where to get it” but they suggested we make a left down a dirt road to a little grocers market. They had fresh cut fries but no tapes. Back on the road, we continued past the street we were supposed to turn down hoping we’d find civilization. We stopped at a little strip mall. No tapes, but they pointed us in the direction of a CVS not too far away. Luckily for us, they had one package of three left. We grabbed it and broke speed limits tracing back to Kelly’s street. And wouldn’t you know it, out of the rear view mirror we saw the flashing lights of a squad car…Just joking, we pulled down an unmarked road and winded down it for what seemed like forever before we arrived. Kelly and her dogs (who she spoke to in German) warmly greeted us . Her interview was great in that she had a lot to say about teenagers (being a mom), working with Hughes, and some ideas on why he’s disappeared. She also fulfilled Matt and Fach’s fantasy by asking them “What do you little maniacs want to do next?”

Thursday, July 9, 2009

So, we had just gotten back to Toronto. We now had amassed 6 hours of tape. The doc was beginning to take shape. I’m famous for irritating people with my metaphors, but I’d like to call this the “moment of conception”. We had found our “egg” and we were in phase one of making our “baby” ; but our cell phones bills were high and our pockets were empty. We needed help. (and I continue to need “help” for my over/misuse of quotation marks).

The next interview we were excited for was with Linda Schyler. Many of you might say “Linda, who?”. Linda was the creator of the original Degrassi Junior High. As the story goes, Aaron Spelling was interested in buying it and revamping it to take place in a school in Los Angeles, but Linda wasn’t interested in glamorizing high school, instead wanting to accurately reflect a high schooler’s life. (can you see the tie in to Hughes?). Spelling ended up making his own series set in high school that never really took off , 90210…

Another tie into our doc, is that Kevin Smith (who gave us an awesome interview) is a gigantic fan of the original series and when it was brought back with a new class a few years ago (and a huge hit), they did a MOW with Kevinand he has since returned to direct a few episodes.

Unfortunately, Linda’s interview didn’t make the final cut, but she had amazing things to say about stories for teenagers, Kevin Smith and of course, John Hughes. And now, through this blog, you can watch it here . * You’ll see that I was still figuring out the aesthetic of how the key interviews were shot. It was after this shoot I realized that how I was shooting wasn’t working and I then changed my approach to have them framed a certain way and ON A TRIPOD. My bad. Lesson learned. Best film school ever.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Out of the four of us, Lenny was the only one with a "real job". He works for a wine company , spending most of his time on the road, so it was exciting to have him with us on our first star interview with Ms Ally Sheedy. As he wouldn't have an opportunity to speak to many others during the course of the documentary, I handed the interviewer reins over to Len and stayed behind the camera. Nerves abound, he did a fantastic job. To give you a bit more perspective on how the interview went down, I hand the blog over to Len.

"The Ally Sheedy interview was memorable for me for a number of reasons. It was the first official interview and well, my first interview asking the questions. The team had been in New York for a while doing their thing and I was making a one day appearance...literally. I flew in at 9 am and we were driving back to Toronto that night. So, I was in for a long day. From the time I landed in New York, it was as if everything moved in fast forward. I left the airport and met up with Kari. From there, we went to the location to meet Matt and Mike. I had questions planned but by the time Ally showed up, I drew a blank and it was autopilot from then on. Now, keep in mind we probably did over 200 interviews for this film. This was the first! No template, no mistakes to draw on or change. When the nerves were going, I went back to the basics. I asked Ally about the things that had really got us to this point, the relevance of Hughes today, the unique magic of his films, the mystery etc. I basically did not have to speak. Ally went on talking, touching on all of the same things Matt, Mike, Kari and I had been discussing for months. It was amazing to hear Ally Sheedy say that her and other actors, directors felt the same way we did about John. This was a good starting point. I knew we were onto something special."

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Welcome to our blog.

Until the film is available for you to purchase (stay tuned for when&where you can get it), we'll be updating this blog weekly with a start to finish recounting of our trials and tribulations making the film, interview clips that didn't make the final cut, pictures, links, and songs from our amazing indie soundtrack.

SYNOPSIS

How did John Hughes capture the growing pains of adolescence so perfectly? Why do his films resonate with those that grew up with them, and those that have just discovered them? Why did he leave?

Armed with those and many other questions, a documentary was put into production. It wasn't long before interviews with Hughes alumni and those influenced by Hughes transpired, shedding light on Hughes and his work. However, after 2 years of compiling hundreds of interviews there was still a very important one missing: John Hughes'.

So the neophyte documentary crew hit the road to his hometown, documenting their journey, the approach they would take and their personal connections to his films.

DON'T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME cuts insightful and entertaining interviews with the honest, humorous, and tension filled road trip the filmmakers go on, hoping to find John Hughes and secure an interview with the reclusive director and closure for themselves.